


The World's Most Toxic Bromance

by dancefantasy



Category: Nancy Drew (Video Games)
Genre: (on food), Choking, F/F, Frenemies, Introspection, Open to Interpretation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:15:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28915206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancefantasy/pseuds/dancefantasy
Summary: Deirdre is determined to keep her "friendship" with Nancy as toxic as possible, but perhaps their rocky relationship means more than what it looks like on the outside.
Relationships: Nancy Drew & Deirdre Shannon
Kudos: 2





	The World's Most Toxic Bromance

It was a pleasant spring day at Harrison Park in River Heights, but Deirdre Shannon thought she could have been in more pleasant company. She was with none other than her "frenemy," Nancy Drew, and partially wishing she had chosen someone else to help finish her overdue criminology homework. It wasn't that Nancy was truly bad to be around; despite their rocky history, they had found some common ground in recent times while working together on various cases. Nancy was just acting a little too chummy, and Deirdre didn't want her to get the wrong idea and think that she wanted them to be buddies. This meeting was just a sharing of intellect, not some playdate. They couldn't get to a point where Nancy could make Deirdre feel bad for being mean to her. Who else would be a good scapegoat for all her negative emotions?

"I need to remind you that I didn't ask for your help because I want _you_ _specifically_ to do it," Deirdre told Nancy as she reviewed the answers Deridre had already written. "You are, unfortunately, simply the best person in this dumb town to give me good answers, and you probably owe me a favor anyway."

Nancy was pretty sure that she didn't currently owe Deirdre any favors, but it was hard to keep track of those sorts of things. Regardless, she didn't mind lending a hand to someone she considered a friend. "It's nothing," Nancy assured her. "It's kind of fun to look at what you've been learning. And I'm not an expert, but I think what you have so far looks about right."

Deirdre quickly snatched the papers back to continue onto the next set of problems. "Good. Now just stay quiet until I need you again."

Nancy obliged that demand, content to keep digging into the fruit salad she had brought along as a snack. It was hard to find time for regular meals sometimes when you're always off solving mysteries, after all.

But Deirdre was not very pleased with Nancy getting herself some sustenance, not because her rival was helping herself to continue living, but because it was annoyingly distracting. "Ugh. You're the most obnoxious eater sometimes," she complained.

"I am?" Nancy asked. She knew she did tend to eagerly slurp down sweets with little thought, but no one had so blatantly questioned her table manners like that before. 

"Yes! How am I supposed to get this worksheet done when your chewing sounds like it's coming from a starving cow with excessive saliva production?"

Nancy tried not to roll her eyes. That choice of description was definitely over-the-top. Still, she promised she'd try to be more quiet to avoid Deirdre's wrath as much as possible. The other girl was smaller than her, but she could probably pack a punch if she tried. And Nancy could hold her own in a fight, but she generally liked to avoid having to get into physical altercations. Especially when she was just trying to help Deirdre salvage her grade.

Deirdre got back to work, scribbling answers down and glancing at her lecture notes. Nancy tried to eat more consciously, but that actually seemed to make things worse. In an attempt to silently eat a particularly large grape, Nancy ended up being threatened by its throat-blocking abilities.

"What, are you choking?" Deirdre asked sarcastically as she heard an odd noise come from Nancy's direction, thinking she was being overdramatic since she had insulted the way she ate. But Nancy nodded seriously, eyes begging for help. "Oh, you really are choking," Deirdre responded. She was completely unsure what to do in this situation. It's not that she really wanted Nancy to die via fruit, but saving her seemed too... out of character.

Luckily for the girl detective, she was able to quickly do the Heimlich maneuver on herself once she realized Deirdre was in no rush to assist, spitting the grape out into the grass and coughing through the pain of it all. "Why didn't you help me?!" she exclaimed.

Deirdre didn't always have good responses to questions, but she always had snarky ones. "It's beautiful to watch perfect things fall apart. That's why there's always a demand for reality shows about rich people crying."

Her choice of words distracted Nancy from the chaos that had just occurred. "What? Deirdre, I'm not _perfect_."

"Ugh, choke on another grape already!" Deirdre threw her pencil at Nancy, who looked back at her in complete confusion. Nancy was glad that Deirdre was not the crime-committing type, because she would be too confusing to interrogate and investigate due to her constantly contradicting behavior. It frustrated her greatly.

"I thought you were done with all this pointless animosity! Whatever happened to how we were back in Salem last fall? You and I both know we can get along if you actually tried."

Deirdre scowled. "What, is this some little 'bromance' to you? Because it's not. This relationship is _supposed_ to be toxic, Drew. I continually leech off of you until I become the bigger, better person. And then by that point, you're so small and worthless that you just slip down a storm drain and out of everyone's lives."

"'Bromance?'" Nancy nearly laughed, finding everything going on quite ridiculous. "Those are your words, not mine. Some kind of Freudian slip, perhaps?" she had to ask, honestly thinking Deirdre was on better terms with her than she would ever willingly admit. Perhaps her harsh words were all an act so she wouldn't gain a reputation for being soft.

"You wish! I'm not your 'bro,' and there's certainly no romance!" Deirdre crossed her arms and turned away to hide the blush on her cheeks. The thought made her nauseous. But she tried to do better than to just keep yelling. "Okay, fine. I take back the part about a storm drain. I admit, the world is a better place with you in it. But that doesn't stop me from being insanely jealous of the way everyone loves you and your big brain and your kind heart and the way you're always saving people--"

"Deirdre, you need to stop comparing yourself to me! You're amazing in your own way. You're intelligent and determined! And you may act like you don't, but I know you care really deeply about things. I would never want you to think I'm better than you." Nancy picked up the pencil and amicably offered it back.

Deirdre reluctantly took the pencil, remaining standoffish. "...We were never supposed to get along, Nancy Drew. Stop trying to force it."

"But--"

"No, just... Be quiet. I need to concentrate on this."

It hurt that Deirdre didn't seem willing to put the past behind her and fully get along with Nancy. They had so much in common, shared experiences and interests. But trying to become close friends felt like trying to walk through a wall. So, from that point on, Nancy only spoke when she needed to help with the homework, and she quickly began to leave once everything was finished to avoid any more strange arguments. 

"Well, I've got to go. I have a date with Ned tonight, and I really don't want to be late _again._ " Ned was always patient with his girlfriend's distracted nature, but she still felt bad anytime she accidentally blew off their plans.

"Oh, a date? I hope it all goes horribly wrong!" Deirdre responded in a forced cheerful tone. 

Nancy looked at other girl with unsurprised disappointment. "That's not very nice."

"Of course it's not! I want you two to break up!!"

"I don't think Ned is interested," Nancy pointed out, knowing that Deirdre had often expressed interested in stealing her boyfriend away from her.

"Well, maybe I don't care what Ned thinks," Deirdre bitterly responded before taking a long sip of her iced coffee and avoiding eye contact.

Nancy let herself roll her eyes that time. Deirdre was relentless. " _Anyway_... Have a good evening, Deirdre," she said as she gathered up her belongings to leave. "Good luck with your assignment."

"Later, Drew," Deirdre muttered, watching with an empty stare as Nancy dashed away to her next task until her bright red hair was no longer in sight.

The park suddenly felt lonely now that the sun was beginning to set. Deirdre almost wished Nancy could have stayed; she did make for good company, as much as she hated her.

Oh, she did hate Nancy, the town hero with the dreamy jock boyfriend. Because Deirdre was just the family disappointment who couldn't keep a friend for more than a few months, and she had been envious of Nancy Drew ever since she first heard about her all those years ago as a child. It was hard to say if those "friends" left her of their own accord or if she had chased them away. It could be scary to get to close to someone, because if they did, she'd have to be herself. And Deirdre wasn't really sure who she really was. So, no one could stick around to make her find out.

Except... Nancy. Nancy had stayed her friend in recent times, even though Deirdre had generally treated her even worse than other people who had left quicker. There was surely some irony in that.

Their "friendship" was a rocky mess, and maybe it would never get better. But at least it was one constant in Deirdre's life. She'd have to help Nancy the next time she decided to choke to maintain the equilibrium. As long as Nancy didn't dare suggest it was anything close to a "bromance" again.

**Author's Note:**

> I must thank my sister for the name of this fic. <3


End file.
